Shell Vera

Instead of all the arguments over what to say to greet someone, what if this year we appreciated that we live in a country where we are free to think differently, worship differently, and celebrate the holidays differently?

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As I walked the streets of NYC yesterday, stood in Rockefeller Center last night, and walked the paths in Mystic Village tonight, I thought of how we treat others, how we dishonor the fact that we live in a country with so much freedom, and how we pick fights over things that don’t matter yet allow things that do to go unsaid.

This time of year, many people celebrate many holidays and celebrate in many ways. There is absolutely no harm if someone wants to tell me “Happy holidays”; after all, it includes the Christmas I celebrate and honor. I am not offended and I say it back.

I don’t want to go to my grave with people only remembering me as the person who each year caused strife over how holidays are celebrated. I want to go as the woman they remember caring about them when no one else did, who took time to reach out when she was overwhelmed herself (this hasn’t been as true this year so I’m working on it again), and who made their day brighter each time they saw her or messaged with her.

Whatever you celebrate, I wish you a happy holiday. And to my fellow Christians, as we remember Jesus and honor His birthday, let’s not dishonor Him by starting arguments but honor Him by how we love and give of ourselves and shine lights this year.

If we haven’t noticed yet, the world is hurting and it doesn’t need more hate… it needs Him to shine through us to meet people at the point of their need not correct their grammar. You can have a strong faith and honor God without people believing exactly as you do.

Thank you NYC and Mystic for showing me Christmas cheer and reminding me of the reason I celebrate this season. 💜

I am going to do my best to go live tonight between 9 and 11 pm EST to tell you about my 11 things that bring me hope as part of .11_ but am sharing this here just in case!

I woke up yesterday battling something that has me lying down and remaining still, so I’m unsure how I’ll be feeling. But my illness does not stop me from listening and hearing all the hope others are offering.

If you’re sick, if you’re exhausted, if you’re frustrated, I get it. But keep fighting for this life. It’s worth it. Ever struggle. Every bit of anger and sadness. When we push through them, we see hope we didn’t know we had.

Your life is worth living. Visit .11_ to hear from some of the poets who have already gone live from across the world.

Thank you for launching this project and giving us all a reason to come together and to remember how precious life is.

After a year with my Egroup, I decided to fly down and attend Reflect in person with them. We met in person for the first time, had a lot of fun, talked politics and how we hurt from all the people being hurt by things said from people who confess Jesus, did karaoke, and just had a beautiful time. You truly have to find your people and hold them close.

I’m thankful for knowing people who truly love as Jesus loved. Who truly do their best to walk with God instead of monitoring others’ walks and making life scary for them. This is a time when we need to be sure we are acting out what He told us by following His example. Let’s not confuse teachings from others with the Words of Christ and the example He provided to us. He was very clear that love leads and HE is the only judge.

Let’s reach in and check our hearts, and reach out and do better with others’ hearts.

Thank you to for bringing together people from across the United States (PA, CT, TX, and CT) to deepen our relationships with Jesus and each other! Pastor preached her best sermon yet yesterday and the energy continued today with Pastor sharing with us how to Reverse the Ripple.

Here in America, we’re celebrating the unofficial beginning of summer. I think it’s poetic that Memorial Day weekend is also when we honor those who never came back from their last day: people who died while serving in the Armed Forces.

Every day people are around you are at risk of today being their last day. By chance or by choice. After battles in their bodies and after battles in their minds.

As you walk around the beach, attend parties and cookouts, and engage with the world around you, remember ’s words. They’ve never been truer than today as we see people around us passing away, which means their loved one are struggling, which means you could be a light shining into someone’s darkness.

Be tender with others. You don’t know what they’re going through. Just as they don’t know what you’re going through.

As we head into this week, be sure to set your intentions. It makes a positive impact on each of your days. Through what I’ve learned from and , I’m seeing changes that I’m thankful for in my life and business!

Here are a few things I look at each Sunday evening between 11:30 and 12 as I settle in for the evening (I really belong in Portugal, India, or PST!):

1. Who do I want to connect with? 3 people.
2. What one thing MUST I complete this week?
3. Which book will I read intentionally? (Bible excluded)
4. What errands must I run?
5. What two fun things will we ensure we do?
5. Which part of my faith will I go deeper with this week? (Ie: Prayer, worship, study, or community)
6. What skills will I work on increasing?
7. How will I rest intentionally this week?

What are some of your success strategies that help you win your weeks?

I read an article about that had a quote about her not setting out to do this alone. But, she was willing to bet on herself. I can’t find the quote now, but it’s stuck with all week.

Sometimes, others won’t see your same vision.
Sometimes, others won’t hear the song playing in your head.
Sometimes, you have to go all in on yourself.
Sometimes, you have to take the shot.

Is there an area where you’ve been waiting for someone to bet on you, but it’s not happening?

Is there an area that maybe you need to step up and say, “I’m going to go all in one me?”

I challenge you this week, be the one who sees your worth and becomes utterly focused in bringing your dreams to life.

Let’s stop playing second chair to our own lives. There are people everywhere waiting to celebrate with you… even the ones who don’t know who you are right now.

Congratulations Cole! And thank you for permission to share your beautifully captured photo.

Over on ShellVera.com today (bit.ly/DotsStorms_SV — Case Sensitive), I shared the full version of this poem in post so it’s easier to read.

Each week, I get together with writers around the world to write for an hour. It’s been a beautiful experience because it’s forcing me to make time for my own writing instead of always doing it for work or in scattered moments throughout the week.

The background is on the blog, noting this was written after being inspired by .

I hope you enjoy reading it. It’s too long to paste here or I’d make it one less click for you.

🤔 What are you doing with your three little dots?



All images made with text to graphic ai tool.

Hello Queen!!!

When we read Song of Songs, we see the love God has for us, that our [future] husbands should have for us and us for them.

Yet, I’ve struggled with seeing God as this “light of my heart” “lover of my soul” view because of my past.

I’m realizing how hard of a time I have giving the KING of my heart the throne fully because I’m looking through this past filter.

As I’ve made myself work on changing the prescription of my lens, I’m seeing how He truly loves and romances us daily.

Queens.

The KING of the world, creator of the universe, creator of our hearts, loves is so much and wants to spend time with us… with me… with you.

You’re a Queen.
And even in the worst of situations within royalty, the King and Queen meet to discuss strategy.

Where am I going with this?

🤔🔥😅

That’s like one of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books from our childhood.

You choose.

❓ Do you need to lean in to accepting that you’re royalty?
❓ Do you need to embrace His love for you?
❓ Do you need to spend more time in the War Room of your life discussing strategy with Him?

Whichever it is, choose your adventure today and dive in with Him.

He’s waiting for you.

(Song of Solomon, Revelation 3:20)

Pulling this one from the archives. It’s one of my top ten favorite pieces I’ve written in the past few years and my favorite to perform. Here’s a clip from it. ..
But I always got what I wanted.
Then I met you.
Standing on my tippy toes to look into your eyes made me smaller as I allowed inside thoughts to cloud my mind.
Putting on heeled boots so I could be more eye level with you allowed me to see my own deficiencies and areas where I wanted to improve.
These aren’t bad things.
I grew.
I became who I am today.
I learned that I didn’t need to stand on my tippy toes because all along you were there with a stool.
I learned that I didn’t need to get creative with my footing because you were there to help me reach the things I wanted.
When I was with you the stars were suddenly at my fingertips and the sun was hot against my skin.
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Full poem at https://shellvera.com/2019/11/26/standing-on-my-tippy-toes/
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Also available in “When I Stopped Remembering Tomorrow”; available on Amazon.
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If you’ve been stalling on your goals ALL these years, chances are that you’re not going to conquer them overnight.

Instead, break them down into bite-size pieces using the philosophies shared in books like Darren Hardy’s “The Compound Effect” and BJ Fogg’s “Timy Habits”.

Incorproate ideas from Tommy Barnett’s “The Power of a Half Hour” or James Clear’s “Atomic Habits”.

Consider teaching from Cal Newport’s “Deep Work” or “The One Thing” by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan. (Christians, also consider “The Best Yes” by Lysa Terkheurst and “Redeeming Your Time” by Jordan Raynor” for scriptural application of time / energy commitments.)

Go back to the basics with the Brian Tracy’s “Eat That Frog” and Laura Vanderkam’s “168 Hours”.

The beautiful thing about technology is we have access to so many resources! We also have the ability to talk / engage with others who are putting these teachings into action.

👉🏼 Let this be the year you read / listen AND apply the learning.
💪🏽 Let this be the year you reach out for accountability to go further and dive deeper into your goals.
🙌🏽 Let this be the year you shine the way you’ve helped others glow for years!

Start today and you’ll be crushing your goals one habit at a time before the end of the quarter, and reaching goals you didn’t think possible before the Gregorian calendar changes to 2025!

Let’s go!

Today.
Right now.

It’s what we have.

Let’s BE here and enjoy it.
In all its glory AND in all its suck, let’s be thankful we have it.

Why enjoy the sucky parts of life?

Because there will be many people today who don’t make it into 2024.
Who don’t get to choose to celebrate or cry, or both.
Who choose to end it because they can’t bear anymore.
Who can’t imagine another year like last, so they won’t enter in because of the stress taking them tonight or willingly saying it’s over.

As I reflected upon and wrote this post, 3 people took their own life in the US.
3 people who someone loved and won’t see anymore.

So let us, still here, honor this moment for what it is, in all its pain and sorrow, in all its goodness and glory.

Let’s be thankful for our breath. For our friends. For our relationship with a God who doesn’t always make sense but ALWAYS sees the bigger picture.

This year. Let’s release yesterday, stop remembering tomorrow, and give today all we have as we can.